Marill

The paved route seemed charged with great energy now as two Trainers faced off in heated battle. They stood to the side as the active Pokemon recovered from their moves or being hit. In the eyes of all participants, there was an excited glimmer from a chance to prove oneself strong. An orange weasel with a yellow float along his body pawed at the pavement in eagerness, while a rough tall boulder with arms and legs grinned and beckoned him to do his worst.

"Graveler, attack that squirt with full force!" one Trainer called, quite tense in frustration.

The other side looked more confident, flashing a grin at his opponent's steady loss of self-control. "Floatzel, Aqua Jet!"

With those orders, this round was pretty much a foregone conclusion. As the Graveler lumbered over, clenching its fists, the Floatzel lowered his poise, then turned into a flash of liquid energy crashing into his foe. It knocked the former out so cleanly that the rock's Pokeball recalled him before he hit the ground. Whooping a cheer, the Floatzel hopped onto his back paws and struck a pose for his teammate watching alongside the road.

The Marill squeaked a cheer and waved to him. But once his attention went to his next opponent, she fell back into worry. He was a good fighter and she had seen him win many times. She had fought alongside him many times. But then, she had also seen him lose, and had lost with him. It was so hard to battle after seeing her dear Floatzel lose. Especially lately; they had grown so close.

And especially when she'd fallen into the season where she was looking for a life partner to bond with.

Even after Floatzel had won for their Trainer, Marill still felt anxious. She was thinking about the kind of child she wanted to raise. Her first egg could hatch a Marill like herself. Overall, that was good. The child would be able to live independently within its first week if it were a Marill. And it would be able to battle for their Trainer, or another human if traded. Really, she wouldn't mind a trade of her child if that child were a Marill.

However, she really wanted an Azurill child. That would be tougher. An Azurill child would be far more dependant on her, Floatzel, and their Trainer for care. It wouldn't be able to live independently for at least a year. It wouldn't be able to fight properly for months, and they'd have to watch it closer or else it would get hurt due to ignorant curiosity.

But that dependence was why she wanted an Azurill. Then she'd get a much better opportunity to be a mother. Marill wouldn't get long to bond with her child if it were like herself. But if it were an Azurill, then Marill and Floatzel could love and teach the child for much longer. That would be so wonderful.

There were so many other things to worry about in concerns with her first egg too. Since their Trainer was active in the Pokemon League, she, Floatzel, and their potential child would be battling quite a lot. They traveled a lot too, so she couldn't find a nice quiet river to lay her egg in either. That would be so wonderful though… to float her tail buoy on the surface while showing her little Azurill child how to dive down and fetch delicious greens that grew on the bottom of rivers, while Floatzel swam around and made sure the area was safe. It wouldn't work like that, though. Oh, and since they encountered many Pokemon on their travels, it would be easier for her child to come into contact with a stranger and get sick as a result. That would be terrible for an Azurill.

So many things that could go wrong if her child was weak. Marill hugged herself, giving up on the dream of having an Azurill child for now. Perhaps later, sometime.

At the end of the day, Floatzel was in a great mood. He did notice that Marill was worried, and tried to cheer her up. He offered to clean behind her ears, gave her the first choice at dinner time, and cooed to her. When that didn't seem to help, he gave her a flower… which made the Nurse Joy at the Pokecenter mad because he had stolen it from her desk vase. Their Trainer had to give it back.

Marill followed them back to their rented room, choosing to sit by the window. She could see the city pond from here, thankfully. Maybe if she lived in a pond like that, it would be okay to have an Azurill child. Even with lots of humans around them, it would be easy to see those looking to capture Pokemon and keep her baby away from them.

She noticed her Trainer sit by her before he patted her head. "Hey there girl. You've been really tense lately. Is something wrong?"

Giving a soft squeak of gratitude, she tried to reassure him that she was okay. There was nothing really wrong; she was just worried about the future. And who was to say that something wouldn't change that future? She could still decline Floatzel and look for another partner. Or one of them could get traded.

"The nurse said you were fine and healthy," he said. "But if something's bothering you, you can talk with Floatzel about it. You two are good friends."

That was true. And their human was a good one. He wouldn't trade away her egg if she didn't want to. With what he knew, he could take care of the little one too. Still, maybe not one so little as Azurill.

The young man scratched her head. "You're still tense, though. I know. I think I've got something that'll help you relax." He leaned down to grab his bag and began digging through it.

What did he have in mind? She hopped closer to the edge of the table by the window, peering into the Trainer's bag. It looked simple on the outside, but it held so much stuff on the inside. Sometimes, it was difficult to say what he was going to grab out of it. He had a knack for finding hidden stuff and stowing it away for later.

"Here we go." He pulled out a small metal ball attached to a cord. While the bottom half was closed off, the top half was cut open with several slots. He tied it around her forehead, since her round body didn't have a neck like other Pokemon. "I heard that this Sea Incense helps soothe Water Pokemon. It does smell nice. I just hadn't thought to equip it to you yet."

Looking up, she grabbed at it and brought the ball in front of her nose. It smelled of salt, sand, and kelp, like a quiet seashore somewhere far away. While she was born in the rivers, the sea had always held a fascination for her. One's views under the river's surface were limited to what lay within the banks, but one's views under the sea's surface would be almost unlimited, from shore to who knew where.

Marill smiled and thanked him for the gift. It was quite soothing. Maybe she was getting all worked up over nothing. Based on this and many other things, her human was kind and loving. Knowing that, she could feel safe in having an Azurill child.

That is, if her feelings towards Floatzel matched his feelings for her.

...

Marill Diamond entry: Using its tail as a float, it dives underwater. It likes eating plants that grow on river bottoms. Water 2

This came about wondering why certain Pokemon would need incense in order to get pre-evo forms. However, I had covered some of the incense Pokemon already, and others would work better with other stories. Marill worked nicely, I think.